Genesis Reveals New Details About Its Magma Racing Team at Le Mans
The Genesis Magma Racing team continues to develop its GMR-001 LMDh Hypercar, which just completed a successful dyno test.
GMR team principal Cyril Abiteboul also announced a new race base in Le Castellet, France, and introduced important new members to the team.
Genesis design chief Luc Donckerwolke revealed that the brand is expanding into new markets: France, Italy, the Netherlands, and Spain.
Genesis is getting closer to its goal of chasing racing championships. During a press conference today ahead of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Genesis Magma Racing team principal Cyril Abiteboul shared an update about the development progress of the GMR-001 Hypercar as well as new details about Hyundai Motorsport's expansion.
Hypercar Development Speeds Up
The new race car, two of which will compete in the 2026 World Endurance Championship (WEC) as part of the LMDh Hypercar class (a two-car IMSA team will follow in 2027), was first announced last year at an event in Dubai. We also learned that Genesis's Hypercar will feature a turbocharged V-8 engine with a hybrid system. Earlier this year, Genesis gave the world its first look at the GMR-001's orange-themed livery, and the racer is getting closer to reality.
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Genesis
Today, Abiteboul announced that the Hypercar has completed a successful dyno test. This is said to be the next step in validating the racing team's decision to employ a V-8 powertrain, which was designed by basically combining two of Genesis's 1.6-liter turbo fours. The latter engine has seen success in Hyundai Motorsports' participation in the WRC (World Rally Championship).
Abiteboul also revealed that Hyundai's motorsports division is growing to accommodate the newly created GMR team, with the operation establishing a base in Le Castellet, France. As the team principal explained, this will help with the development testing of its first two Hypercars due to the proximity to Oreca's factory, which supplied the chassis and continues to supply parts for its LMDh race cars.
New GMR Team Members, Le Mans Experience
Joining Abiteboul's ranks are three new faces that the team principal says will provide valuable experience from their extensive racing backgrounds. Anouck Abadie has been named team manager. Not only does she have a history working with the FIA, the governing body of motorsports, but Abadie has also previously led endurance teams as the manager and sporting director. She is joined by Gabriele Tarquini, who has won multiple Touring Car championships and is GMR's sporting director. Justin Taylor is the team's chief engineer, with experience in both IMSA and WEC. Previously, Taylor was the race engineer for Chip Ganassi's Cadillac racing team and also for Ferrari, whose team placed first overall in the 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Genesis
From left to right: Justin Taylor, Anouck Abadie, and Gabriele Tarquini.
"They all have great experience in motorsport, which will be complemented by additional endurance racing expertise of the other team members we will recruit in the coming months," Abiteboul said. "This mix and the management structure we announced today will be at the center of the team through our testing this year with the GMR-001 Hypercar and our race team in the FIA World Endurance Championship next year."
While Genesis Magma Racing won't be competing for a Hypercar title in this year's 24 Hours of Le Mans, members of its trajectory team will get valuable experience for the top-dog competition in 2025. This year, GMR's LMP2 entry will be part of the action, with Jamie Chadwick, Mathys Jaubert, and André Lotterer driving the #18 Oreca 07 race car fielded by GMR's partner, IDEC Sport.
Genesis Looks to Grow Its Market Share
Of course, automakers don't just race for the fun of it. There's a lot of prestige involved, especially for a fledgling luxury brand like Genesis. While the company has made inroads in the U.S. market despite being a decade old, it's continuing to expand its footprint into other regions. During today's press conference, Genesis design chief Luc Donckerwolke also revealed that the brand plans to start selling models in more parts of Europe, including France, Italy, the Netherlands, and Spain.
Genesis
If its racing aspirations yield positive results, people around the world might take even better notice of a car company that started as a luxurious Hyundai model and could compete with the likes of Aston Martin, BMW, Cadillac, and Lamborghini. While the results remain to be seen, the road to victory lane is currently being paved.
Eric Stafford
Managing Editor, News
Eric Stafford's automobile addiction began before he could walk, and it has fueled his passion to write news, reviews, and more for Car and Driver since 2016. His aspiration growing up was to become a millionaire with a Jay Leno–like car collection. Apparently, getting rich is harder than social-media influencers make it seem, so he avoided financial success entirely to become an automotive journalist and drive new cars for a living. After earning a journalism degree at Central Michigan University and working at a daily newspaper, the years of basically burning money on failed project cars and lemon-flavored jalopies finally paid off when Car and Driver hired him. His garage currently includes a 2010 Acura RDX, a manual '97 Chevy Camaro Z/28, and a '90 Honda CRX Si. Read full bio
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